Mike Simmons checks out the first cassette multitracker to be equipped with the acclaimed Dolby S noise reduction system — and discovers a new level of cassette fidelity.

At first glance, the Fostex 380S is just another dual speed, cassette-based 4-track aimed at the more serious end of the home studio market. Like many of the current designs, it offers a considerable degree of flexibility, coupled with good facilities and respectable technical specifications, but what makes it stand out from the competition is the fact that it's the first machine of its kind to be equipped with the Dolby S noise reduction system. It might be argued that cassette-based multitrackers only remain viable because of improved tape formulations used in combination with more sophisticated noise reduction systems — indeed, 20 years ago, some doubted the viability of the cassette itself! There's no doubt that where analogue recording is concerned, Dolby S represents one more step towards the Holy Grail of avoiding tape noise without degrading the actual signal in any obvious way.

OVERVIEW

The 380S' mixer section is unusually generous in that it offers 12 input channels, each fed from a quarter-inch input socket; these are arranged along the front panel of the machine. The first four channels will accept either microphone or line level signals, while the other eight are line level only and are essentially configured as four stereo pairs. All channels are controlled by long-throw faders.

While the microphone/line channels boast pretty much all the features a musician could ask for, the other eight are a good deal more basic, and are primarily intended for use at mixdown when a sequencer is being used, or when recording a band live.

As might be expected of a machine of this calibre, the 380S is capable of recording all four tape tracks simultaneously. In practice, the mic preamp signal path proved to be very quiet and clean which inspires confidence when recording acoustic instruments; coupled with the Dolby S noise reduction system, this starts to make the machine look very serious indeed.

The EQ system (channels 1-4 only) is well up to standard and provides 15dB of cut or boost at 10kHz and 80Hz, while the Mid band range is covered by a sweep control, again providing 15dB of cut or boost, tunable between 200Hz and 6kHz. This is more than adequate for most remedial treatment and gives the user the opportunity to indulge in quite a high level of creative equalisation.

The first four channels also have a pan pot, two Aux sends and an input selector enabling the user to route the signal from the input socket to the channel fader (in which case the signal from tape is routed to the submix), or to route the signal from tape to the channel fader (in which case the signal from the input channel is routed to the submix). It's also possible to switch the selector to 'Off', the obvious choice if a channel is not needed.

The first four channel strips also play host to a small submix section, consisting of an assign switch which routes the submix signal to the monitor mix or the stereo bus, a pan pot and a rotary gain control. Each of the main faders is accompanied by a short-throw Trim fader which allows the user to trim incoming signal levels; this takes the place of the usual input gain trim pot normally found at the top of the channel strip. If the Assign switch in the submix section is set to 'Tape', however, then the Trim Faders operate as level controls on signals routed from the input socket to the submix.

Both auxiliary busses are mono send and stereo return but there is no pan control on the return section — whether or not this is a problem will depend on your individual requirements. When using the left Aux Return input only, the sound will be positioned in the centre of the mix.

Channels 5 to 12 have rather more limited facilities; each pair of channels shares a single fader, a pan pot, an assign switch and an auxiliary send. If instruments are only plugged into the odd numbered channels, then the pan pot operates in a conventional manner, steering the mono signal between the left and right stereo busses. When used with a stereo signal, the pan pot is simply used to balance the left and right signals against each other, the odd number only ever being routed to the left and the even only to the right. There is only one auxiliary control for these channels and this can be used to route the combined signal either to Aux 1 or to Aux 2, but not to both. There is also an Assign switch which routes the signal to either the stereo bus or to the monitor mix.

By careful use of the 380S' facilities, it's possible to add 12 'live' signals at mixdown, as well as mixing what's on tape. Even though some of these channels offer limited features for the connecting of processors, it's always possible to connect an effects unit in-line with the incoming signal.

Fostex make use of the 380S with a sequencer as straightforward as possible by providing the machine with a pair of sync sockets for recording time code on track four. There are separate output sockets for each of the tape tracks on the back panel, but these will, of course, deliver a signal that has been processed by Dolby S. Time code can respond erratically when it comes into contact with some types of noise reduction and, though the manual makes no mention of this. I'm assuming that the signal from the sync sockets will be untreated. In any event, I experienced no problems when working with C-Lab's Unitor.

The 380S has two headphone sockets served by one gain control. A selector switch in the Master section allows the user to choose whether the headphones are fed from the monitor mix, the stereo mix or a combination of the two. The same mix is sent to to a pair of monitor output sockets on the back panel and, once again, the signal to these sockets is modified by a dedicated gain control. There is a single master fader handling the signal to the stereo output sockets. I would have preferred to see a pair of faders here but have to concede that this arrangement does at least make it possible to achieve clean fade-outs without any danger of the signal wandering across the stereo field.

THE TAPE SECTION

Both 4.75 cm/s or 9.5 cm/s — normal and double — speed options are available, though the former speed is only ever likely to be used when playing back tapes recorded on other machines, since the higher setting will always give a better quality recording. In fact the 380S only switches in the Dolby S system on the higher speed, so this is really the only option which will show the machine off to its best advantage. A slightly irritating feature is that the machine defaults to Dolby Off whenever the tape speed is changed. In other words, while the machine will automatically power up at the fast speed with Dolby on, if you switch to the slow speed — to play a reference tape, for example — and then switch back to 9.5 cm/s, the Dolby needs to be switched in again manually. How irritating this is depends on how good your memory is!

The tape transport system is an absolute joy to use; the micro-switch buttons have a very reassuring feel. Besides the usual facilities (including a shrouded record button — a gold star for that) it's possible to set two location points as well as a zero return point. Once these points have been set, the 380S can be programmed to respond to them in a variety of ways. In its Auto Repeat mode, the machine will shuttle back and forth between the two location points, allowing you to rehearse a particular passage again and again without having to touch any of the controls. In its Auto Play mode, it will rewind to a specified location and then immediately begin to play, while in Auto Stop mode it will, hardly surprisingly, rewind to a location and then stop. There is also an Auto Play and Repeat mode but, in order to maintain some degree of anticipation, I will not reveal what it does. (It's so easy to tell when someone's been inadvertently exposed to a Hitchhiker's re-run.) With prolonged use there is inevitably a little tape slippage, which produces a small error in locate accuracy, but it's minimal, and so is unlikely to cause any inconvenience to the average user.

However good our equipment might be, we still make mistakes, and the ease with which we can rectify those mistakes is a fair indicator of just how good our equipment really is. Dropping in and out of a previously recorded track is often a tricky business, but the Fostex 380S offers the musician the chance to completely automate the process.

The traditional method is to audition the offending track, drop into Record mode at just the right moment — preferably on a drumbeat to mask any consequential noise — and then replay or sing the faulty part, dropping out again at the next convenient gap. Many multitrackers allow the user to operate a footswitch to move in and and out of Record mode, and this is certainly the case with the 380S — a socket for a footswitch is provided on the front panel. A more elegant solution, however, is to use another of the machine's Auto features, and though this is by no means unique, it certainly makes life easier when working on your own.

Besides the location points, it's also possible to set a point at which the machine will drop into the record mode and another where it will drop out again. There is a Rehearse facility which allows the user to check out the consequences before doing anything irreversible. Inevitably there is a slight gap after the drop-in has been completed, but this is an unavoidable characteristic of any tape transport mechanism that you just have to live with. Drop-ins do seem very clean and tight, however.

Working with the 380S is made a great deal easier by the machine's display panel, which shows the tape speed and position, the position of the two location points and an indication of any of the Auto functions that are currently operational. A small symbol indicates the status of the tape transport while six bargraphs (seven-segment LED type) simultaneously display the levels of the four tracks and the stereo mix. Toggling on the Recall button replaces the displayed location points with those selected for 'punch in' operations. All of these legends are very clear and easy to read.

IMPRESSION

The 380S' controls are well laid out and easy to understand, though I have to say that I was a little disappointed by the build 'feel'. The plastic felt a little more 'plasticky' than I'm used to, and some of the controls didn't feel quite as reassuring as they might. The was particularly apparent in the case of the faders, which reminded me of those on an Alesis 1622 mixer, offering a less than smooth action. This is all fairly subjective, however, and I wouldn't let these comments put me off the 380S — or the Alesis mixer for that matter; I do, in fact, own a 1622 myself!

Nice though some of this machine's facilities are, what really sets it apart is the inclusion of Dolby S noise reduction. This keeps the noise well down without introducing any noticeable side-effects and is certainly a significant improvement over both dbx and Dolby's previous consumer noise-reduction systems in the context of cassette multitrack. Not only does the Dolby S ensure that first generation recordings are to a very high standard, it also helps reduce the quality loss when tracks are bounced — an inevitable evil when you only have four tracks to play with.

In all, I liked this machine — and particularly its sound quality — very much. It's easy to work with, it has plenty of inputs and it's certainly capable of producing some very impressive sounding results. If you're looking for quality audio but wish to remain with the all-in-one multitracker format, then you really do have to try the Fostex 380S.

Further Information

380S £699 inc VAT.

Fostex UK, (Contact Details).

1. CHANNELS 1-4: The first four channels double as mic or line inputs, the first two of which feature balanced XLRs. The connectors are located on the back panel. The first two channels are also equipped with insert points on stereo jacks (tip send/ring receive) which is another practical addition, especially for those wanting to use compressors.

2. EQ: The 380S features three-band EQ on the first-four channels only. This provides 15dB of cut or boost at 10kHz and 80Hz, while the Mid band range is covered by a sweep control offering +/-15dB between 200Hz and 6kHz.

3. AUX SENDS: There are two post-fade auxiliary busses to handle effects. On channels 1-4, these are accessed via two independent aux controls. When turned anti-clockwise, the signal from the main channel is routed to to the auxiliary bus. When turned clockwise it takes the signal from the submix. In either case these are post-fade; there is no provision for a pre-fade send. The stereo channels utilise a single 'centre-off' control which provides an Aux 1 send when turned left of centre and an Aux 2 send when turned right of centre.

4. RECORD TRACK SWITCHES: These are three-position switches providing two different routing modes and an off position. The recording for each track can either be sourced from the stereo mix or directly from input channels 1-4. In direct mode, input channel 1 would feed tape track 1 and so on.

5. METERS AND DISPLAY: Six bargraph meters monitor the four tape track levels plus the main stereo mix level. Included in the window is a four-digit tape counter; the display also shows information relating to the Auto Punch-In/Out and Locate functions when these are in use.

6. TRANSPORT CONTROLS: The main transport functions are handled by large, soft-touch buttons. Above these are smaller buttons which control the Locate, Auto Punch In and Rehearse functions.

7. MASTER SECTION: A single fader controls the stereo mix level, while the Dolby S noise reduction may also be switched on or off from this section. Above the fader is the Monitor Source switch and level controls for both the Phones and Monitor outputs. The two Aux returns are stereo and have their own level controls.